| Also
written 籬垣, 水垣. A fence. Originally, mizugaki referred to a fence
composed of trees surrounding a forest or mountain where the spirit of a
deity dwelt. During the *Kofun
jidai 古墳時代, it was a fence placed around the abodes of an
emperor and other sacred precincts. With the introduction of Buddhism, the
term came to refer to the fence surrounding the *honden
本殿, wherein the spirit of the deity revered at a shrine was thought to dwell.
At Ise Jinguu 伊勢神宮, the holiest of shrines, Naikuu 内宮 (inner shrine)
and Gekuu 外宮 (outer shrine), are surrounded by four fences. However, an
illustration of Naikuu dated 1709 that appears in Watarai Nobutsune's 度会延経,
Naigekuu densha-zu 内外宮殿舎図, showing a fifth fence added to the front
part of the shrine. The innermost fence is called mizugaki. It is
arranged in sections of vertically set boards with every sixth one extending
above the other five. Although the boards fit together tightly along the
top, they are distinguished by six cuts forming a design of dentils. Example:
Ise Jinguu Naikuu; Gekuu, in Mie prefecture; Sumiyoshi Taisha 住吉大社
(Edo period) in Osaka. At Sumiyoshi Taisha, there are four small identical
shrine buildings but they are surrounded by only two fences. The boards
of the mizugaki are set vertically. They are painted red-orange with
tops cut into points which are painted black. |
